No. 21 Twins | No. 23 Orioles | Nos. 30-21
No. 22: Miami Marlins
Last Season: 71-91
Projected record: 79-83 (third in NL East)
BBTN video preview: NL East | Betting guide
Miami finished third in the National League East, a full 20 games under .500. Considering how heavily the roster depends on stars Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez, topping 70 wins with those two players missing large portions of last season had to be a moral victory. Stanton's hamate bone will be fully healed by the time the Marlins take the field on April 5, while Fernandez, another year removed from surgery, should be ready for an increased workload. The club also added free-agent starter Wei-Yin Chen to take some pressure off. Likewise, they need Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna to help Stanton in the middle of the order.
Giancarlo Stanton is one of the best young sluggers in baseball, and with 181 homers in his young career, he's on his way to much bigger things. Of all players under age 30 in baseball, he's the only one with a better than 50 percent chance to reach 500 homers. -- ESPN.com (graphic from Dan Szymborski)
Stanton and Fernandez. When you have a top-10 offensive player and a top-10 starter, you always have a chance. Miami added Chen, a viable option behind Fernandez, and took a low-risk gamble on the enigmatic Edwin Jackson, hoping newly hired pitching guru Jim Benedict can fix him. They also have two top arms -- Justin Nicolino and Jose Urena -- knocking on the big league door. The bullpen lacks star power, but packs firepower, even with Carter Capps (Tommy John surgery) out. The lineup should be much improved with a full year from Stanton, who should have plenty of opportunity to drive in Dee Gordon and Yelich. A bounce-back from Ozuna, perhaps under the watch of hitting coach Barry Bonds, would also help.
Potentially Stanton and Fernandez. With a roster this top-heavy, any hiccup from one of the team's two stars, as was the case in 2015, will be difficult to overcome. The lineup significantly drops off after the top three, putting pressure on players like Ozuna and a platoon of Justin Bour and Chris Johnson. Similar things can be said for Jarred Cosart and Tom Koehler in the starting rotation. The bullpen, while chock-full of hard throwers, is relatively low on experience.
No. 21 Twins | No. 23 Orioles | Nos. 30-21
